Thermal-Sensitive Artificial Ionic Skin with Environmental Stability and Self-Healing Property

Abstract

Wearable temperature-sensitive electronic skin enables robots to rapidly detect environmental changes and respond intelligently, thereby reducing temperature-related mechanical failures. Additionally, this temperature-sensitive skin can measure and record the temperature of external objects, broadening its potential applications in the medical field. In this study, we designed a thermally sensitive artificial ionic skin using ionic liquids (ILs) as solvents and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as thermally conductive fillers. The incorporation of ILs into the polymer network enhances thermal stability, while the CNTs establish dual thermal conduction pathways (CNTs-CNTs and CNTs-polymer chain segments), leading to rapid thermal response times of only 16 s. The initiation of IL dissociation at elevated temperatures boosts carrier density, resulting in a substantial improvement in thermal sensitivity (5%/°C). Furthermore, the skin displays remarkable self-healing properties (90%), thereby extending the lifespan of the skin in practical applications. This kind of skin can stably sense the wearer's body temperature and environmental temperature and provide an ideal temperature-sensitive and long-term stable new functional material for the development of human skin such as robots.